Experts from the Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction mission from Netherlands, have presented their findings on flood mitigation measures to address flooding issues in the Ba and Rakiraki Rivers to the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural and Maritime Development, Waterways and Environment.
Team leader, Fred de Bruijn says some interventions that they have identified for Ba includes dredging, widening of the river into the flood plains, and re‑assessing the Ba Bridge and its dynamics during floods.
He says they need to give more room to the river and the above intervention are aimed at increasing the through‑flow of water during peak events.
He adds that they firmly believe for the Rakiraki River, a continuos maintenance of the Nakauvadra Creek coupled with sediment traps is the way forward and he also applauded the river improvement works undertaken by the Ministry of Waterways and Environment in 2018.
Bruijn says there is an urgent need to address the current land use practices in upper parts of the catchment and encourage reforestation to reduce run‑off and sediment loads.
The team had earlier visited both Ba and Rakiraki towns, and engaged with local stakeholders to better understand the situation for informed interventions and also with relevant government Ministries and international development agencies to further this work into tangible interventions.
The Minister for Agriculture, Rural and Maritime Development, Waterways and Environment Dr. Mahendra Reddy says that they need to retain maximum water in the upper catchments through retention dams and off‑stream impoundments to attenuate flood peaks in the lower parts of the catchment.
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